Cenotes X’keken and Samula

Perhaps the most photogenic swimming hole in the Yucatán, the remarkable Cenote X’keken is also called Dzitnup like the nearby village. Visitors descend through a tunnel into a huge vaulted cave, where a nearly circular pool of crystal-clear turquoise water glows under a shaft of light from an opening in the ceiling. A swim in the ice-cold water is an invigorating experience. Across the road, at the even more impressive (thanks to spooky natural lighting) Cenote Samula, the roots of a huge tree stretch down into the pool.